An intensive 6-week course to be offered summer 2019 at Flathead Lake Biological Station
in the magnificent Northwestern Montana Rockies.Meets Monday through Thursday, June 24th through August 1st. Go directly to the Biological Station's 2019 summmer session course listings page by clicking here. You can apply online. You'll be signing up for UMT's BIOB 491, Sec. 01. Do not neglect FLBS scholarship opportunities! Undergraduate or graduate credit is awarded by the University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA. For University of New Mexico biology students, there may be an option to sign up for and obtain credits directly via UNM; more on that later.

Students of evolution and behavior from across
disciplines and the world over are invited to participate; maximum enrollment
will be about 12 students. Most of my students are biology majors, but as in years past I will consider applications from upper division and graduate students in the humanities who have a deep desire to understand the evolution of behavior. I once had a philosophy major from American University, Beruit, Lebanon, who immediately went on to do doctoral work in evolutionary antropology at Rutgers.

Aims of the Course
Our big question in this course is: how are animal minds designed to solve niche-specific ecological and ultimately reproductive problems? Behavioral ecology really is the study of animal minds, their functionally related morphological and physiological traits, and the relation of their embodied mind's
design features to historical, recent and currently observable forces of natural selection. Evolutionary behavioral ecologists study how natural selection in all its forms has fashioned wild minds to gather, process, transmit, and respond to streams of information coming from within the body, via self-assessment, as well as from the environment. In this class we practice and discuss how to make evolutionary sense of the spectacular and often puzzling design features of animal behavior, and their awesome responsiveness to complex variation in their natural environments.

Flathead Lake Biological Station has been the main site for my research on the sierra dome spider since 1980, the year I first took this very class myself, and which I now teach in an updated form that still honors the approach of my wonderful professor from 1980, the late Dr. Allen Stokes, along with the approach to field work of my superb later mentors (see my main web page). I assisted in teaching rigorous field courses in animal behavior at Cornell University for two terms under Dr. Paul W. Sherman. I have taught Field Studies in the Evolution of Animal Behavior at FlatheadLake, in both 4-week and primarily 8-week formats, since 1994. After a hiatus, and thanks to the recent glorious revivication of the FLBS summer teaching program, we are reinstituting the class in a new 6-week format in 2019.

The course is designed to provide mature, perservering undergraduates, beginning graduates,
teachers, and select students from other fields of behavior (e.g., psychology,
anthropology, philosophy) with substantive experience in performing
professional quality research in evolutionary behavioral ecology. Necessarily then, the
course also is intended to hone one's ability to think creatively and
productively from an evolutionary "adaptationist"
perspective. In my experience, it is only through concentrated contact with
diverse animals operating in nature, combined with on-the-spot discussions of
the often profound evolutionary principles germane to understanding their
behavior and related morphological and physiological design, that most people
really begin to appreciate the grandeur of natural selection and the
staggeringly beautiful creatures it has produced. Likewise, it is only via
thorough, determined digestion of evolutionary concepts and direct involvement
in designing and implementing rigorous research methodologies, that one
develops and understanding of the power of evolutionary biological thinking for
elucidating the structure and functional significance of animals' bodies and
minds.

Students who immerse themselves in the course will be prepared to undertake creative doctoral quality research
in behavioral ecology. Students often also have had their world views
transformed and enriched, sometimes radically. This is not so much my doing.
Rather, I think it is the nearly inevitable combined effect that (1) sustained,
disciplined contact with nature and (2) sustained, disciplined exposure to
correct theory, has upon perceptive truth-seeking
human minds. Sadly, few people ever have an opportunity to work with others, to
seek a richer more objective understanding of mind and nature, under these two
key synergistic conditions.

Let me know, by the
way, if you wish to communicate with former students.

The course is intended for
students who wish to move beyond the usual undergraduate role of knowledge
consumer and into the role of the active scientist: a creator of new verifiable
knowledge. The course's top priority will be the development of practical and
analytical skills gained while performing collaborative, theoretically informed
and potentially publishable field and lab projects. Evolutionary analysis of
behavior will be emphasized together with techniques for capturing, handling,
marking and observing animals in naturalistic and experimental contexts
enabling testing of hypotheses about the behavior's adaptive function. Student
projects will include all elements of the research process from initial
observation of a behavior, to brainstorming about its possible adaptive
functions and methods to study them, to statistical data analysis and writing
up the project's results in publishable format.

Studying adaptation is
surprisingly tricky, but tremendously intriguing and rewarding. The
appropriateness and efficacy of the three basic modes of investigation - the
comparative method, measurement of fitness differentials among behavioral
variants, analysis of functional design - are debated in the literature. These
methods and their associated problems and controversies will be introduced with
the aid of recent papers from the primary literature. The student's digestion
of such conceptual material will be facilitated by practical experience in: (1)
mentally carving complex animal phenotypes into adaptively meaningful suites of
behavioral and morphological traits, (2) developing evolutionary hypotheses
about the costs and benefits and potential adaptive function(s) of observed
behavior, (3) choosing among available modes of investigation to establish
formal testing schemes designed to critically evaluate appropriate alternative
hypotheses. By the way, many of the most intriguing and observable creatures to study are arthropods. You might want to think twice about taking this course if you have a strong bias against studying watching and possibly handling them. On the other hand, you may discover a wonderful new appreciation of them in this class. I certainly never thought, back in 1980, that I woud spend over three decades studying the sexual selection system of a spider, but it is one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Attentive observation coupled with evolutionary thinking will be
the foundation for everything we do in the course. Students will learn how to
combine observations of an animal's behavior and ecology with knowledge of
natural selection theory to develop alternative evolutionary hypotheses and
testable predictions as the basis for their research projects. Students will be
thoroughly coached in the computerized statistical analysis of their research
data. Writing skills will be honed in 4-5 essays on theoretical topics and in
the production of at least two research papers in which the quality of writing
and the integrity of the student's collaborative effort will play a substantial
role in grading. Patience, fortitude, concentration, adaptability and the
ability to distinguish simple perception from subtly biased interpretation will
be some of the "inner skills" that students will be invited to work
on during the course.

In all aspects of the course, the student's initiative,
originality will be encouraged and their observing and questioning faculties
will be honed. Yet, detailed guidance also will be available. Lectures and
discussions as well as extensive reading will provide students with the
essential theoretical knowledge to develop and interpret their research
projects from a modern evolutionary perspective. According to the classes'
interest, we shall also bring evolutionary psychological perspectives on human
behavior and the design of human minds into the picture via reading, critical
discussion and, perhaps, self-observation.

Primary responsibility
for each research project will rest with teams of 2-3 students: the
"Principal Investigators" (PI's). Each student will serve as a PI on
two projects. PI's will be co-responsible for (1) developing an especially
thorough understanding of the conceptual and logistical aspects of their
project, (2) analyzing and writing-up the results in publication format and (3)
giving a 20 minute end-of-semester oral presentation in collaboration with his
or her co-PI's. However, every student in the course will be involved in the
development and troubleshooting phases of every project via research roundtable
discussions. All students also will assist in data collection in all projects
on a rotating basis. Scheduling of each student's participation in data
collection will be handled by project PI's in coordination with the instructor.
A major component of the course grade (40%) will hinge on the student's engaged
participation in the research projects in both their PI and research
assistant capacities, as well as their thoughtful contribution to class
discussions.

A number of class
projects involving highly observable and manipulable
arthropods and other critters have been planned in some detail ahead of time,
in the hope that all students will have the experience of participating in
successful research with publication potential even in the short time available
for the course. However, students also will have opportunities to discover and
develop projects of their own.

Prerequisites and
Recommended Prior CoursesAll students, especially those with less than junior
standing, should directly consult the instructor before enrolling. A strong
biological undergraduate background is recommended, but no single course except
an evolutionarily oriented introductory biology course for biology major is
considered to be a necessary prerequisite. Some of my best students have
been mature English and Philosophy majors. But certainly, prior courses in
evolution, genetics, statistics, scientific writing, and behavior(!)
will enhance most student's experience in this course.

Course Format
As a course that centers on real research on real animals, the format must be dynamic
and flexible. Nature does not care about anyone's plans or wishes to order
their work in some comfortable fashion. We must be flexible and opportunistic
or we will miss many of our best chances to do research. The class needs to be
a rapid-deployment-force!

This will be a
demanding course for mature dedicated students. Willingness to participate in
class activities and independent work is required during official class hours.
Additional work is encouraged during the evenings and at other times of the
week as the student's schedule permits. Students in charge of caring for
captive animals will be expected to care for them meticulously throughout the
week and to arrange for another student to take over this responsibility on
days when this is impossible.

Achtung: Everyone should have documentation that they are up-to-date on their tetnus immunizations!If you are not sure of your tetnus status get a booster. Rarely, you may need a full series of shots, e.g., if you did not get them as a child. Because of the chance of wounds and cuts during outdoor activities, and the minor risk of being bitten by an animal (e.g., in connection with a major class project, I hope to be handling Columbian ground squirrels, using high quality protective equipment of course), up-to-date tetnus protection is essential.

Your instructors will
be living at the station and insofar as possible want to be available to you
for research support and intellectual discussion during the entire week. We
love our work and we are hopelessly afflicted with an overwhelming desire to
assist and guide students who wish to pursue theirs!

More on the Design
of the CourseField Trips - Although there will be some field trips, you should know
from the outset that this course is not designed to be a tour of NW Montana
power-spots, as wonderful as this would be for all of us. Rather, it is a
course in which attempts to do meaningful behavioral research is our first
priority. For the sake of practicality, most of our time will be spent at or
near the station.

Research - The research experiences
provided in this class are not "exercises." They all require genuine
innovation both in the formulation of hypotheses the development of research
methods. Moreover, the kinds of questions our class projects address are of
current interest to behavioral ecologists and the write-ups should have high
publication potential if we, as a team, obtain sufficient high quality data.
With good fortune and hard work this should be feasible in many cases, although
it will never be easy. Examples of class projects include:

the effect of operational sex ratio on
the intensity and duration of intersexual
conflicts over mating duration in two water strider species (Gerrisbuenoi
& G. incurvatus.)

comparative female mating resistance in water striders in relation to genitalic morphology.

the adaptive function of male mimicry by female
damselflies (Enallagmaboreale.)

the function of low nectar yield aphid
guarding in several ant species (e.g.,Campanotuspennsylvanicus) - possibly an unusual
example of chemical exploitation of ants by aphids, or ants investing in
small colonies of aphids so that they can grow and eventually provide
profitable amounts of honeydew for the ant colony (i.e., farming!).

sex pheromones and fighting intensity in sierra dome
spiders.

nutritional status and sexual receptivity in a water
strider (Aquarius remigis.)

comparative foraging behavior of various ant species.

the intensity of male-male
courtship and competition in sierra dome spiders in relation to female quality, relative and absolute male sizes, breeding season date, air quality, etc.

interspecific and intersexual
competition and nectar nutritional content in Rufus and Calopie Hummingbirds.

Alternative
student-initiated projects may be performed by individuals who show strong
ability and desire to work independently or by teams of 2-3 students (the
latter is encouraged). Student-initiated projects may be done in place of one
or both of the projects listed above. During the first two weeks of class,
students will be encouraged to search the station for potential research
projects. There are many species with interesting behaviors awaiting discovery
and study! Student- initiated projects may consist of any research scheme that
a student can devise. After preliminary observation of the animals and
behaviors in question, the student who wishes to attempt an original project should
meet with the professor and intern to discuss the feasibility and design of the
research. After receiving the instructors' input, the student must settle on a
behavioral research question and a research protocol and have the final project
approved by the instructor. If the research is approved, the entire class will
meet to discuss the ideas involved, after which the relevant student(s) will be
turned loose on the project. The main criteria for deciding whether a proposed
project can be approved are that a specific evolutionary hypothesis must be
tested concerning a behavioral or morphological trait of a readily observable
animal that lives on or near the biological station. Students performing
projects of their own design may be excused from certain whole-class activities
in order that they be able to devote time to their
projects. A student with a good independent project may be excused from prior
commitment to lead a pre-planned project within the first 4 weeks of the
course. We will do everything in our power to facilitate performance of
approved student-initiated projects.

Lectures and
discussion - I
believe in teaching through conversation, although some straight lecture will
be necessary early in the course to efficiently introduce central concepts. We
will try to concentrate lecture/discussions into times of poor weather or other
times when observation of animals is likely to be less productive. We shall
concentrate most lectures into the first several weeks of the course, so that
there will be more research time in late June, July and August when weather is
more likely to be permissive. Lectures will be scheduled on a varying basis to
maximize opportunities for research activities. Usually, there will not be more
than 1-2 hours of lecture on any given day, except perhaps the first few class
meetings. Again, the main point of the course is to get practical field
experience!

Essays - Several 2-4 page essays focused on evolutionary
thought-questions will be assigned during the summer. One on one and group
discussion of the essay topics exercises our analytical muscles and help
individuals with idiosyncratic problems they have applying evolutionary theory
to the adaptationist analysis of animal and human behavior. I am not
necessarily interested in a 'correct' answer in these essays. Instead, I look
for your having engaged in a logical, evolutionarily informed, and creative
process that you have taken time to articulate as well as you can in writing.
Essay grades will depend both on content and writing quality.

Students are
encouraged to confer with one another and with the instructor in analyzing the
assigned topic, but individuals must write semi-final drafts of their essays
completely independently. Come up with your own way of wording whatever you
decide to present. As you confer with your peers or instructors, try to be
subject to logical argument without letting your originality get squelched
unless there is a compelling reason! There may be more than one approach to
dealing with any assigned question.

When you have a
semi-final draft of an essay, that is, one whose form and content you are
satisfied with, I then would like you to have a fellow student read the essay
and give you feedback, not concerning content (that came before, during
discussions), but form (i.e., comprehensibility, succinctness, grammar, etc.).
Based on the student's comments, try to improve the presentation and then turn
in a final draft for instructor evaluation. In other words, I want you to
constructively critique one another's writing the way professional writers
normally do before they submit something for publication. Note that the goal is
not to adopt your peer's writing style, but to hone your own by making it more
understandable and grammatically correct. Please get the person who reviewed
your semi-final draft to initial the final draft before you hand it in, and
please be a conscientious reviewer of the papers of others.

Oral Presentations - So that the entire class may
enjoy the fruits of their data collection and project planning efforts, team
leaders of each fully-planned and exploratory project, as well as any
independent project, will briefly present the results of the project to the class.
Presentation of the results of exploratory projects (about 15 minutes long) will
be in the evening within 2 weeks of the execution of the project. Presentation
of fully-planned project results (20 minutes long) will be anytime during the
final two weeks of class.

Reading and
Discussions -
Students will read much of the deeply hallowed and required text, John Alcock's text, "Animal Behavior"in its brand new 11th edition, now co-authored with Dustin R. Rubenstein
to reinforce and expand their understanding of topics covered in lecture and discussion. Specific readings from the text will be assigned at the beginning of the course. I also shall suggest specific readings for students that are relevant to their chosen project(s).

I may assign other
class readings depending on the weather's effect on fieldwork opportunities,
and ask teams of students to lead discussions based on them. Each student may
co-lead 1-2 class discussions during the summer. At the beginning of the
course, I will present a list of potential papers for discussion and in the
second week of class, students will vote on which papers interest them most.

The written exam will cover all major conceptual material covered
in lectures. It will have a predominantly short essay format. It will cover textbook and other assigned reading, as well as major discussion topics.

Videos - As a last resort, say, for
instance, if more than 2/3rd's of the class have been mauled by a bear, we can
watch good Nature videos. We shall discuss the videos with an eye toward
evolutionary analysis of the behaviors seen and critique of their scripts.
Optionally, there will also be Neil Young, Jack White, Warren Zevon, and Stevie Ray Vaughan videos that we'll subject to profound
evolutionary analysis.

Behavioral Ecology is a course that puts YOU
center stage. It calls for you to be extraordinarily active, creatively
engaged, and often team oriented. I strive to run the course in the best way possible to help students develop and synergistically fuse conceptual, analytical, and practical behavioral ecology skills.

While this course meant to be very
fun as well as intellectually stimulating and liberating for mature students, be warned that
it is no summer vacation. There will be a small number of 3-day weekends for you to venture out on your own to take recreational trips, e.g., to Glacier National Park, which I highly recommend. But at least as often you probably will need to spend those weekends working on the course at FLBS. I hope the class also will be able to visit some great places during our official M-Th time slot! Regarding the latter, it would be GREAT if one or two of my students could take a short course at UMT or UNM that would qualify you to drive the big 4x4 SUV's FLBS now uses for field trips. Please, let me know if you can contribute to the course in this way.

My phone number is 505-681-3391. You can feel free to call me about any course-related questions.

Although parts are a bit dated, you may get to know my teaching style and goals even better by looking at my old teaching web site.

Warning: Several times a day I scan my environment for "whiners" and deal with them the good old Montana way...